Federal Agency Decisions
Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB), each with a plain-English summary, the law it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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J.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Diego, CA
J.M. (ECAB 09-1374): Mail delivery back injury claim denied
J.M., a Postal Service mail carrier, reported back pain while delivering mail and submitted treatment records diagnosing back strain. OWCP denied his injury claim, finding that he had not established a specific work incident. The Board agreed that being at work when pain began did not identify the…
F.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Dallas Bulk Mail Center, Dallas, TX
F.M. (ECAB 09-1262): Additional arm schedule award denied
F.M., a Postal Service employee, sought higher arm impairment awards following accepted hand and wrist conditions and carpal tunnel surgeries. An impartial physiatrist measured impairment in both arms but concluded that the current deficits were not caused by the accepted work conditions. He cited…
A.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Baltimore, MD
A.S. (ECAB 09-1111): Arm impairment award returned for new evaluation
A.S., a Veterans Affairs food service worker, had accepted carpal tunnel syndrome and received a schedule award for 10 percent right arm impairment. She sought a higher rating based on a physician's findings for motion, strength, sensation, and finger triggering. The Board found the medical record…
F.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Staten Island, NY
F.N. (ECAB 09-1095): Suitable work termination reversed
F.N., a Postal Service customer service supervisor, had an accepted post-traumatic stress disorder claim after a confrontation with a subordinate at work. OWCP ended her benefits when she declined a four hour modified supervisor position at the same workplace. The Board found that OWCP had not…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Philadelphia, PA
S.M. (ECAB 09-1063): Existing arm impairment award upheld with corrected reasoning
S.M., a Postal Service employee, received a schedule award for 15 percent permanent impairment of her right arm after an accepted lifting injury. She sought a larger award, citing her physician's rating and challenging the referee physician's calculations. The Board found that the referee had…
F.S. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Las Vegas, NV
F.S. (ECAB 09-0979): Intermittent wage loss claim denied
F.S., a Transportation Security Administration screener, had an accepted claim for a left ankle strain and tendinitis after a workplace injury. She requested compensation for 17.25 hours of missed work in September 2005. Her medical notes excused her from work on some of the dates, but did not…
L.T. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Las Vegas, NV
L.T. (ECAB 09-0751): Benefit termination upheld, later residuals remanded
L.T., a Transportation Security Administration screener, had accepted low back conditions and received compensation benefits. OWCP ended those benefits effective September 13, 2007. The Board found that a second opinion examination supported termination at that time because it showed no continuing…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Midflorida, FL
R.M. (ECAB 09-0739): Dual benefit overpayment and waiver denial upheld
R.M., a Postal Service employee, received OWCP compensation and Veterans Affairs benefits for the same left knee injury during overlapping periods. After a prior appeal required a new calculation, OWCP determined that the dual payments produced a $159,918.02 overpayment. The Board upheld that…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Crestline, OH
L.M. (ECAB 09-0490): Later neck condition not linked to accepted injury
L.M., a Postal Service letter carrier, had an accepted cervical sprain after a work-related vehicle accident in February 2000. OWCP ended benefits in June 2006, and the Board had previously upheld that termination. Seeking renewed benefits, she argued that the accident also caused her cervical…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3584, Council of Prison Locals C-33 (Union) and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin, California (Agency)
AFGE Local 3584 and FCI Dublin (FLRA 0-NG-2986): Relocation proposals dismissed without prejudice
The Bureau of Prisons planned to move a regional office 52 miles from Dublin to Stockton, California. The union proposed equal relocation expense treatment for eligible employees and a satellite office in Dublin. The Authority dismissed review of both proposals without prejudice because neither…
Secretary of Labor v. IO Coal Company, Inc.
Roof-control unwarrantable finding remanded
An administrative law judge affirmed an S&S roof-control violation involving more than 15 unsupported or inadequately supported kettle bottoms but found no unwarrantable failure. The Commission majority held that the Judge had not analyzed all relevant aggravating factors, including the condition's…
Secretary of Labor v. Webster County Coal, LLC
Default review petition denied
A Chief Administrative Law Judge entered default after Webster County Coal failed to answer a penalty petition or respond to a show-cause order that the record showed it had received. Webster later moved to reopen, arguing only that it had no record of receiving the original proposed assessment…
T.C. and Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh, PA
T.C. (ECAB 09-1371): Back injury claim lacked medical causation evidence
T.C., an Army Corps of Engineers employee, said he hurt his lower back while lifting heavy chains at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied compensation because the medical evidence did not establish that it caused an injury. The Board found that imaging reports identified back…
H.W. and Department of Labor, Woodland Job Corps Center, Laurel, MD
H.W. (ECAB 09-1244): Vehicle accident injury claim lacked qualifying medical opinion
H.W., a Woodland Job Corps Center apprentice, reported injuries after a van struck him at work. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied his claim for lack of medical evidence connecting it to a diagnosed injury. The Board held that the chiropractor's opinion did not qualify as physician…
E.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Columbia, SC
E.B. (ECAB 09-1055): Workstation-related back claim denied
E.B., a nurse at a Veterans Affairs medical center, attributed neck and back symptoms to prolonged sitting and leaning over a keyboard at work. OWCP accepted her account of the work activities but denied her occupational disease claim. The Board found that a doctor's diagnosis of lumbago described…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Waterloo, IA
S.B. (ECAB 09-1012): Leading referee questions require new medical review
S.B., a Postal Service employee, claimed that work in hot and humid conditions contributed to a medical condition. An earlier Board decision directed OWCP to use a referee physician to resolve conflicting medical opinions. OWCP instead gave the referee a series of questions focused on other medical…
L.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Tujunga, CA
L.C. (ECAB 09-0972): Carpal tunnel aggravation claim denied
L.C., a Postal Service sales associate, claimed that keyboarding, reaching, and lifting packages aggravated her preexisting carpal tunnel syndrome. The Board accepted that these were part of her job but found that her medical reports did not adequately connect the duties to a worsening of the…
S.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Ann Arbor, MI
S.R. (ECAB 09-0921): Thirty-two more hours of wage loss awarded
S.R., a Postal Service automation clerk, sought wage loss compensation for intermittent absences after an accepted left foot injury. OWCP paid 35.14 hours but denied the remaining hours she claimed. The Board found that her podiatrist's report adequately supported 32 more hours for May 23 to 26…
M.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Burbank, CA
M.H. (ECAB 09-0815): Benefit termination reversed over medical conflict
M.H., a Transportation Security Administration screener, received compensation for accepted right elbow and forearm conditions. OWCP ended her compensation and medical benefits after a second opinion physician reported no continuing work-related limitations or need for treatment. Her treating…
L.W. and Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Santa Ana, CA
L.W. (ECAB 09-0586): Wage loss termination reversed for missing suitable work notice
L.W., an Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent, received compensation after accepted neck and shoulder injuries. His employer offered a modified duty agent position, which he declined while disputing whether its duties fit his medical restrictions. OWCP ended his wage loss benefits…
R.S. and Department of the Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, OH
R.S. (ECAB 09-0335): No ratable leg impairment after accepted back injuries
R.S., an Air Force civilian employee, sought a schedule award after accepted low back injuries in 1993 and 1996. The Board explained that the compensation schedule does not provide an award for impairment of the back itself, though a back injury can cause a ratable impairment of a leg. An examining…
Secretary of Labor v. Patriot Mining, LLC
Panic-bar and roof findings support $12,094 resolution
Patriot Mining litigated whether six violations were S&S, including a scoop emergency-deenergizing device that did not work consistently and five unsupported roof conditions. Judge Avram Weisberger affirmed the panic-bar violation as S&S because delayed deenergizing in the mine's low roof and…
F.G. and Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Fresno, CA
F.G. (ECAB 09-0771): Disability claim remanded, surgery denial upheld
F.G., a Census Bureau field representative, sought wage loss compensation beginning in March 2008 and approval for cervical surgery after accepted work-related vehicle accidents. Her treating neurologist said the accepted injuries left her unable to work, while an OWCP second opinion physician said…
D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Forest Park, IL
D.C. (ECAB 09-0756): Intermittent disability and reconsideration denials upheld
D.C., a Postal Service mail handler, sought compensation for intermittent absences in 2004 and 2007 after OWCP accepted aggravation of spinal stenosis and sciatica. OWCP paid some claimed hours but denied the rest. The Board found that the notes supporting the disputed dates lacked examination…
P.T. and Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Printing & Engraving, Fort Worth, TX
P.T. (ECAB 09-0728): Vaccine injury claim returned for medical review
P.T., a Bureau of Printing and Engraving secretary, became seriously ill after receiving a flu shot through her employer's program. Her medical records described sepsis and necrotizing fasciitis, extensive treatment, and other complications. The Board agreed that receiving the agency-sponsored shot…
R.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Regional Office Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
R.B. (ECAB 09-0717): Recurrence of disability claim denied
R.B., a Veterans Affairs claims examiner, stopped work in July 2008 and claimed renewed disability related to accepted injuries from a 2006 wheelchair incident. Her medical records described hospitalization and recurrent cellulitis of the left leg. The Board found that one doctor's report did not…
L.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Chester, PA
L.M. (ECAB 09-0612): Payment for 2006 physical therapy denied
L.M., a Postal Service employee, requested payment for physical therapy he received in 2006 after earlier accepted back and related conditions. His physician initially referred him for therapy for right shoulder pain but did not explain how it treated an accepted work injury. Other reports noted…
J.Z. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Islandia, NY
J.Z. (ECAB 09-0576): Benefit termination and late hearing denial upheld
J.Z., a Postal Service clerk, received compensation after an accepted lumbar sprain. OWCP ended benefits after an impartial medical examiner found the work injury had resolved and attributed remaining work restrictions to a preexisting condition. The Board gave that reasoned referee opinion special…
G.R. and Department of Agriculture, Rural Housing Service, St. Louis, MO
G.R. (ECAB 09-0561): Refusal to reopen workstation claim upheld
G.R., a Rural Housing Service employee, had claimed that prolonged sitting and other workstation duties caused neck and back symptoms. OWCP denied the claim and later declined to reopen it. The Board found that her new imaging and older treatment reports did not address the medical cause of a…
Secretary of Labor v. Blue Haven Energy, Inc.
Certified-mail proof made reopening moot
Blue Haven Energy marked an assessment form to contest all eight proposed penalties and mailed it by certified mail within the deadline. Its delivery record showed that MSHA received the envelope two days later, although MSHA had no internal record of the contest and later listed the penalties as…
Secretary of Labor v. M & P Services, Inc.
Certified-mail contest made reopening moot
M & P Services marked its assessment form to contest a proposed penalty and mailed it by certified mail within the deadline. Its delivery record showed that MSHA received the envelope two days later, although MSHA's internal records did not contain the contest and the penalty was later listed as…
Secretary of Labor v. Solvay Chemicals
Missing contest form reopened
Solvay Chemicals said it checked the contest box for one citation on the original assessment form, but MSHA had no record of receiving the contest form. MSHA did timely receive a $576 payment covering every other proposed penalty. The Secretary did not oppose reopening the one unpaid and allegedly…
Mountain Coal Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Hydraulic-hose decision corrected
Judge Richard W. Manning had affirmed a hydraulic-hose maintenance violation but originally wrote that the Secretary failed to prove it was S&S. The Secretary moved to correct the decision because she had already agreed at the hearing to delete the S&S designation. Mountain Coal did not oppose…
Secretary of Labor v. John R. Hurley
Contest timely because assessment was not received
MSHA sought an individual penalty against John Hurley under Mine Act section 110(c) and attempted to deliver the assessment by Federal Express. Hurley did not receive it despite trying to do so. After a delinquency notice arrived, his counsel obtained a copy from MSHA and immediately filed a…
Secretary of Labor v. Ray County Stone Producers, LLC
Unforwarded assessment explanation lacked detail
Ray County Stone Producers said the employee who signed for a three-citation assessment never forwarded it for action. The company wanted reopening so it could try to settle the penalties. The Secretary did not oppose relief. The Commission nevertheless held that the company had not given enough…
S.D. and U.S. Postal Service, North Metro Processing & Distribution Center, Duluth, GA
S.D. (ECAB 09-1192): Refusal to reopen wage loss claim upheld
S.D., a Postal Service mail processing clerk, sought compensation for missed work from September to November 2007 after accepted shoulder and back strains. OWCP denied the wage loss claim and later declined to reopen it on reconsideration. The Board found that most of the submitted medical reports…
F.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Miami, FL
F.R. (ECAB 09-1149): Claim returned because OWCP missed timely evidence
F.R., a Postal Service clerk, claimed a neck strain after a workplace exchange with her supervisor. OWCP denied the claim on the ground that she had not supplied enough evidence that the incident occurred. The Board found that OWCP had received her account and two coworker statements on the same…
M.C. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Pekin, IL
M.C. (ECAB 09-0981 and 09-1009): Additional leg impairment award denied
M.C., a Bureau of Prisons correctional officer, sought a larger schedule award for left leg impairment after several accepted back and leg injuries. OWCP had awarded one percent impairment based on a sensory deficit, while his physician proposed 30 percent based mostly on muscle weakness and pain…
V.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Patchogue, NY
V.C. (ECAB 09-0880): Late reconsideration request denied
V.C., a Postal Service employee, sought to reopen a previously denied emotional condition claim. His request came more than one year after the last merit decision, so he had to show clear evidence that OWCP had erred. He submitted coworker statements about an earlier staffing dispute, but the Board…
D.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Keyport, NJ
D.K. (ECAB 09-0780): Duplicate schedule payment overpayment upheld
D.K., a Postal Service employee, received two deposits for the same lump-sum schedule award payment. OWCP recalculated her award using a corrected pay rate and determined that the resulting overpayment was $30,264.28. The Board upheld the amount and found her at fault because the lump-sum agreement…
M.C. and Department of the Interior, New River George National River, Glen Jean, WV
M.C. (ECAB 09-0506): Emotional condition claim and reopening denial upheld
M.C., a National Park Service ranger, claimed an emotional condition arising from an internal investigation, GPS tracking of his work vehicle, leave administration, and alleged retaliation. The Board found that these personnel matters were not compensable work factors without evidence of error or…
R.C. and Department of the Air Force, Sacramento Air Logistics Center, McClellan Air Force Base, CA
R.C. (ECAB 09-0244): Old and new heart condition claims remain denied
R.C., a former Air Force aircraft mechanic, pursued two related claims concerning heart symptoms and work stress. For the older claim, the Board held that his reconsideration request came years after the last merit decision and supplied no clear evidence that OWCP had erred. For the later claim, he…
Secretary of Labor v. Royal Cement Company, Inc.
Restart repairs brought closed plant under MSHA
Royal Cement's quarry and cement plant had been closed since 2003, but about 16 employees were repairing the kiln in 2007 in hopes of restarting production. An MSHA inspector found that the plant lacked required material safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals. Royal Cement argued that no active…
Secretary of Labor v. RS&W Coal Company, Inc.
Wireless tracking plan citation affirmed
RS&W Coal declined to add wireless communication and electronic tracking systems to its emergency response plan because radio-frequency energy could induce current in electric blasting circuits at its anthracite mine. MSHA conducted in-mine testing, provided technical guidance, and repeatedly asked…
Matter of Maria del Carmen MARTINEZ-SERRANO
Aiding illegal entry establishes removability
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a Mexican lawful permanent resident. The respondent had pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting aliens to evade immigration inspection, and the Board held that the…
T.M. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany, GA
T.M. (ECAB 09-1413): Recurrence and schedule award claims denied
T.M., a Marine Corps logistics base mechanic, sought further medical treatment and a schedule award after an accepted temporary aggravation of a preexisting low back condition in 2002. OWCP had found that the accepted conditions resolved when he returned to full duty that year. The Board found that…
D.W. and Department of the Navy, Commander of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
D.W. (ECAB 09-1318): Knee condition not medically linked to shipyard work
D.W., a naval shipyard painter, attributed a left knee condition to pressure washing in confined spaces and other physical tasks. OWCP accepted his description of the work but denied his occupational disease claim. Medical imaging and examinations diagnosed chondromalacia and other knee findings…
M.S. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Seagoville, TX
M.S. (ECAB 09-1261): Overpayment upheld, fault finding set aside
M.S., a Bureau of Prisons maintenance mechanic, returned to work on January 13, 2009 while OWCP continued paying temporary total disability compensation through January 17. The Board upheld OWCP's calculation of a $615.78 overpayment for those five days. It set aside the finding that M.S. was at…
E.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Pittsburgh, PA
E.T. (ECAB 09-1177): Back aggravation claim lacked reliable medical link
E.T., a Postal Service employee, said that limited duty work after an accepted back injury worsened his condition. OWCP treated the allegation as a new occupational disease claim because he attributed the worsening to new work activity, not a spontaneous recurrence. The Board found that his…
J.R. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Philadelphia, PA
J.R. (ECAB 09-0995): Repeated medical opinion did not reopen claim
J.R., a Defense Logistics Agency employee, sought to revisit an earlier determination of his wage-earning capacity after a left hip injury and replacement. He argued that the hip condition contributed to later back problems. On reconsideration, he submitted another report from a physician who had…
W.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Bulk Mail Facility, Philadelphia, PA
W.J. (ECAB 09-0988): Medical evidence did not link conditions to later duties
W.J., a Postal Service clerk, claimed that duties assigned in 2006 aggravated his ankle and lower back conditions. His treating physician attributed the conditions to an accepted 1998 workplace injury, without linking them to the later duties. Another medical provider said the 2006 duties worsened…
M.D. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Whitman Mission National Historic Site, Walla Walla, WA
M.D. (ECAB 09-0851): Car accident broke the link to accepted back strain
M.D., a National Park Service education specialist, had an accepted lumbar strain from pushing and pulling equipment in 2005. He sought further treatment for back symptoms that he said recurred in August 2007. His physician discussed persistent pain but did not provide a current diagnosis of the…
D.T. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Construction Services Branch, Cumberland Steam Plant, Cumberland City, TN
D.T. (ECAB 09-0794): Impartial specialist supported termination of benefits
D.T., a Tennessee Valley Authority painter, had an accepted abdominal contusion and lumbar strain from a 1982 fall. When his treating and OWCP referral physicians disagreed about continuing effects, OWCP obtained an opinion from an impartial orthopedic specialist. The Board gave that specialist's…
R.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baton Rouge, LA
R.M. (ECAB 09-0661): Medical reports did not explain work connection
R.M., a Postal Service mail carrier, claimed that her work duties caused chest and low back conditions. OWCP accepted her account of the duties but found the medical evidence insufficient to link them to the diagnosed conditions. One physician checked a form box saying work caused or aggravated the…
A.M. and U.S. Postal Service, East Atlanta Station, Atlanta, GA
A.M. (ECAB 09-1255): Late claim form barred continuation of pay
A.M., a Postal Service service associate, developed post-traumatic stress disorder after an armed robbery at her workplace. OWCP accepted that injury but denied continuation of pay because it recorded her traumatic injury claim more than 30 days after the incident. A.M. said she had given a claim…
W.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Grand Rapids, MI
W.S. (ECAB 09-1118): Ten percent shoulder impairment award upheld
W.S., a Postal Service clerk, sought a larger schedule award after an accepted left shoulder rotator cuff injury and surgery. One physician rated his left arm impairment at 14 percent, including an additional brachial plexus rating. His treating surgeon's repeated range of motion measurements were…
R.F. and Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC
R.F. (ECAB 09-1089): Medical reports did not establish recurrence of disability
R.F., an FBI custodial worker, had an accepted lower back strain from a 1986 lifting injury. OWCP terminated his benefits in 1992 after finding that the injury had resolved. He later sought benefits for a claimed recurrence of disability in May 2002. One physician certified disability from back…
R.N. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Julian, NC
R.N. (ECAB 09-1077): Telephone operator capacity finding reversed
R.N., a Postal Service rural mail carrier, received compensation for accepted carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. OWCP reduced his benefits after finding that he could earn wages as a telephone operator. Although he could perform sedentary work within the job's lifting limits, a functional…
D.V. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, White Plains, NY
D.V. (ECAB 09-1036): Twenty hours of claimed disability unproven
D.V., a Postal Service mail handler, sought 20 additional hours of wage loss compensation on specified dates in 2006 after an accepted back injury. His physician certified that he could not work on those dates and later attributed flare ups to work duties. The Board found that the physician did not…
J.M. and Department of the Army, Green River Lake, Campbellsville, KY
J.M. (ECAB 09-0960): Late reconsideration request did not show clear error
J.M. sought to reopen a compensation claim after OWCP had terminated her benefits in 1998. Her 2008 reconsideration request came more than a year after the most recent merit decision, so she had to show clear evidence of error to obtain another merit review. She challenged the impartial examiner's…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission, Board and Authority decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, the Authority at FLRA, the Board of Immigration Appeals, the Administrative Review Board at Labor, and the Environmental Appeals Board at EPA). These are citable as precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by the agency's Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.
- Why finality matters: Every page here says which kind of decision you are reading, so you know whether it is precedent you can cite or a final order that only shows how one judge ruled on one set of facts.
- Where they come from: Every page links the official public release from the deciding agency, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.